Florida head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] spoke with the media after a 31-11 win over Florida State to end the 2024 regular season.
He discussed a range of topics but opened his press conference with an apology and statement on the end-of-game skirmish between the two teams, which stemmed from a flag-planting incident at midfield.
“Before we get going here, obviously, what happened at the end of the game is not who we want to be as a program. It’s embarrassing to me, and it’s a distraction from a really well-played football game. So, I want to apologize on behalf of the entire organization, just in terms of how we represented the university there.
“We shouldn’t have done that, and we won’t do that going forward and there will be consequences for all of those involved.”
Opening statement
“I think that we played complementary ball. Defensively, we were lights out. We had a season-high in sacks, limited the explosive plays and then created some takeaways and were able to take advantage of those on offense and get some points from those.
“Montrell goes for over 3,000 yards (in his career). Look, we didn’t have our fastball on offense. I think it was evident there. We had some missed opportunities. It could have been worse is what I would say. I think we struggled at times there.
“We’ve got to play better around the quarterback. Across the board there, I think we’ll look back and see that we’ve got to play better around the quarterback. But in general, good ball. Good to see us finish it there in the second half. Really proud of the leadership of the players. We talked all week about finishing the race and we’re here. So, proud of our team.”
On turnovers, forced fumbles
“Some of those were just takeaway behavior. We talk about putting takeaway behavior on the field. You do it in practice, you do it in-game. Second, third, fourth, fifth defender in, being around the ball, population around the ball contributes to turnovers. The mission here was to come here and put a bunch of identity clips on the tape, and I think we did that.”
On first winning season since 2020
“I think midseason is when it all kind of came together. The players did a good job of kind of putting their blinders on in the first month and didn’t allow excuses, didn’t allow blame and really just went back to work. You go back to that first open date, and I think that Tennessee game was pivotal, the way they responded to that.
“Just in general, it’s good to have some momentum. I thought we took advantage. The mission was to capture the momentum that we had tonight and I thought we did that.”
On closing out the season on a high note
“It’s a huge positive. It’s unfortunate that we have a distraction. That again is inexcusable. Look, our guys deserve it. They’ve worked their tails off. I’m proud of them. As a coach, you want to see the players get some gratification. What we asked them to do is not normal, and all they’ve done is continue to show up. They brought the effort, brought the attitude and they were ready to play.”
Did you get a cigar?
“Absolutely.”
On when the attitude changed
“That Wednesday of that first open date, that’s where I kind of saw our guys change tune a bit, change gears as competitors. Get back to playing the game, enjoying playing the game. I think the way we competed on the road at Tennessee; in that first half, we really showed up and fought our tails off and thought we were in a position to win that game.
“Obviously, that transitioned to Kentucky and the way we competed against Georgia. All these things kept adding up. But in general, taking pride on how we compete on gameday. One thing we’ve learned is you’ve got to earn it, you’ve got to go take it. There’s no shortcuts. There’s no guarantee of a return.
“You’ve got to do all the work during the week and when the ball gets spotted you have to execute. You have to win the one-on-ones. You have to communicate on a high level. You’ve got to give a little extra effort. You’ve got to play with physicality.
“The second we figured out we can do it — it’s football. I think we’ve got some guys who can play and they finally started playing with some confidence. Belief, I think it’s powerful.”
On scoring at the end of the first half
“We were trying to play make-it-take-it. I thought we managed the clock pretty good there. We didn’t start the half very good, so I was disappointed with that. But to make it two scores and really just kind of extend the lead and get control of the game at that point — although we were in control, the score didn’t reflect that — so making it two scores right before the half was big.”
On DJ Lagway’s play to escape and convert
“Superman. There was a handful of plays that were off-schedule, and that’s what he does. He’s going to be frustrated because he knows there were six or eight plays that he could’ve been better, but we’ve got to play better around the quarterback. I didn’t think we were as sharp. Every position there can be better around the quarterback tonight.”
On Montrell Johnson Jr. closing things out
“He worked his tail off to get over the high-ankle (sprain), the bone bruise. He missed a chunk of the season there in the middle. You could see last week against Ole Miss when he’s on, he’s a little different. His patience, his acceleration, his vision and then he showed some finishing speed tonight.
“I mean, 3,000 yards. How many backs in the country right now have got 3,000 yards rushing? He’s taken full advantage and he’s a class act off the field. He’s everything you would want a player to be, in terms of representing the program.”
On the entire running backs room
“6.2 yards a rush. Florida State plays coverage every play. They play a light box. They’re sticky in coverage. They’re inviting the run, much like Ole Miss last week. I think you’ve got to go to the park and establish that.
“We probably could have been more patient at times, in the first half. It makes everything else easier. It makes the throw game better. It makes the movement game better. We didn’t quite connect. I think we hit (Chimere) Dike once on a vertical route. They did a pretty good job in coverage tonight.
“Especially given the conditions — it’s cold, you’re on the road — you need to play with that type of physicality and it was that type of day.”
On DJ Lagway’s performance
“I thought he kept his composure. He stayed within himself. Although he maybe missed a few at times, I thought he just kept playing within the system, taking what they gave him. A big third-and-3 conversion to Tank Hawkins there late, a big throw to Chim, a big throw to (Marcus) Burke and obviously the touchdown late. He did a good job.
“They matched our patterns pretty good at times tonight, and we can play better around him. Overall, there will be things he can learn from tonight’s experience.”
On keeping positivity, 1-day-contract mentality
“I think we’ve got a pretty mature group. I think we’ve fed off the energy. We’re not to that point yet. We haven’t done enough where it becomes — I think we’re addicted to (winning). They like it. They want to do it more. We’re at that point.
“I’ve been places where we’ve won 26 in a row and it starts to wear off on the other end and you have to crack the whip all the time, but we don’t have that issue right now. They’re hungry. They like what they’ve experienced.— the LSU game, the Ole Miss game, obviously tonight.
“Wednesday was one of the most physical practices. At some points, I’m kind of like ‘Oomph, let’s get to the game.’ We actually went in spiders (helmets) on Thursday because I thought that it was so violent out there Wednesday, I was like, ‘Hey, let’s tone it down it down a little bit here. Let’s get them to the park.’ We don’t have that issue right now.”
On injuries throughout the season
“I think some of our issues were when we had a full roster. There’s no excuse for the first month of the season and we had everybody healthy at that point. The depth of the team proved to be valuable. I mean, we had two rookie DBs playing out there tonight. Greg Smith and Jameer Grimsley are out there.
“Yeah, I think next-man-up, big time on special teams. I think we had a lot of players that have played different roles. The running back group I think has stepped up when we had guys banged up, the secondary and obviously the quarterback dynamic. For a true freshman to play the way DJ has played down the stretch, to keep getting better. Right guard, (Bryce) Lovett, (Kamryn) Waites.
“You play our schedule, you play in this league, you’ve got to have depth. There’s always going to be critical pieces of the puzzle that got to play good ball for you down the stretch.
“And look, I’m hopeful that in the future here, we still got a couple games left. So we’re learning that depth of your roster is really important that you go into a playoff, imagine playing a conference championship game and then playing a playoff game. So, we have to continue to add good players to the team, and we have to develop those players all throughout the offseason, so when we do need them, they’re ready to play.”
On Cam Jackson’s injury and performance after
“Makes you wonder how bad he really was hurt. No, Cam’s a tough kid. He’s come a long way. I’m proud of him. He taped that thing up, spatted it up. Sometimes these guys get scared right, especially guys that are right at the door here of his NFL career. He toughed it out and came back. That’s a good sign. I’m happy for him.”
On whether this team can compete with anybody
“Yeah. Put the ball down. I mean, we played all the good teams. We know what they look like. So, yeah, I’m excited. We’re gonna get to play one more time. That’s all we can control. I wouldn’t bet against us. That’s what I would say.”
Is “spot the ball” this team’s mentality
“Strength and conditioning staff, actually, that was kind of one of their themes for the week. No, I think it just goes back to preparing a certain way during the week, and then once you get to the park, put the ball down, and you have to go compete. You have to go execute. You got to go play ball.
“So, and I think just an attitude of, hey, put the ball down. We don’t care who you are, where we’re at, or what time we’re kicking off, we’re up for the challenge. And again, we recruited all these kids. We told them, you have to be up for this challenge. There’s no running from it. There’s no hiding. We have work to do to rebuild and to get ourselves in position. And the good thing is, here in Year 3 on the back half of this season, we’ve done that right.
“So we have some momentum, but there is lots of work to do here to get to where we want to go. But it’s good to have some momentum here, and obviously we need to carry this over into the way you prepare for the bowl game. Need to finish this academic semester strong and sign some good players next week when it comes to recruiting.”
On Early Signing Day
“We’ve done a good job evaluating players and recruiting players. That’s not been our issue here. What we needed to do is prove ourselves on the grass, prove to recruits that we can teach and develop players and that our formula works and win. There’s nothing that is better for recruiting than winning.
“Ultimately, I think that’s kind of been the final piece of the puzzle is some stability and prove it between the lines that your formula works. And I think we’ve done that for the last couple of weeks.”
On rivalry wins
“Look it’s what we came here to do. If we want to go where we’re we intend to go,we’re going to have to do it consistently. There’s never been more parity in college football, in my opinion, than there is right now. The portal, NIL, I just think there’s a ton of parity, and it’s even more important that you have good culture within the walls. There’s got to be, like I told you guys in the beginning, many may see it differently, but for me it is more demanding and more stringent than ever before due to the current dynamic.”
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